Methods and apparatus to perform audio sensor selection in an audience measurement device

ABSTRACT

Methods, apparatus, systems and articles of manufacture to perform audio sensor selection in an audience metering device are disclosed. An example apparatus includes at least two audio sensors to receive audio at an audience metering device and a selection tester to identify a plurality of audio sensor configurations supported by the audience metering device, the plurality of audio sensor configurations identifying respective gain values to be applied to the plurality of audio sensors. The selection tester is further to select one of the first one of the audio sensor configurations or the second one of the audio sensor configurations based on a comparison of a first quality metric and a second quality metric. The example apparatus further includes a media identifier to identify audio received at the audience metering device using the selected one of the audio sensor configurations.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This patent arises from a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser.No. 15/192,666, filed on Jun. 24, 2016, entitled “METHODS AND APPARATUSTO PERFORM AUDIO SENSOR SELECTION IN AN AUDIENCE MEASUREMENT DEVICE.”U.S. patent application Ser. No. 15/192,666 is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety. Priority to U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/192,666 is hereby claimed.

FIELD OF THE DISCLOSURE

This disclosure relates generally to media monitoring, and, moreparticularly, to methods and apparatus to perform audio sensor selectionin an audience measurement device.

BACKGROUND

Monitoring companies desire knowledge on how users interact with mediadevices, such as smartphones, tablets, laptops, smart televisions, etc.To facilitate such monitoring, monitoring companies enlist panelists andinstall meters at the media presentation locations of those panelists.The meters monitor media presentations and transmit media monitoringinformation to a central facility of the monitoring company. Such mediamonitoring information enables the media monitoring companies to, amongother things, monitor exposure to advertisements, determineadvertisement effectiveness, determine user behavior, identifypurchasing behavior associated with various demographics, etc.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an example system constructed in accordancewith the teachings of this disclosure for performing audio sensorselection in an audience measurement device.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the example meter of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is an example front view of the example meter of FIGS. 1 and/or2.

FIG. 4 is an example rear view of the example meter of FIGS. 1 and/or 2.

FIG. 5 is an example top view of the example meter of FIGS. 1 and/or 2.

FIG. 6 is a diagram representing an example configuration of the mediapresentation environment of FIG. 1 where rear-facing speakers are used.

FIG. 7 is a diagram representing an example configuration of the mediapresentation environment of FIG. 1 where front-facing speakers are used.

FIG. 8 is a diagram representing an example configuration of the mediapresentation environment of FIG. 1 where a surround sound speaker systemis used.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart representative of example machine-readableinstructions that may be executed to implement the meter of FIGS. 1and/or 2 to perform media identification using a selected audio sensorconfiguration.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart representative of example machine-readableinstructions that may be executed to implement the example meter ofFIGS. 1 and/or 2 to transmit media monitoring information to the examplecentral facility of FIG. 1.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart representative of example machine-readableinstructions that may be executed to implement the example meter ofFIGS. 1 and/or 2 to update a selected audio sensor configuration usingan input from a configuration interface.

FIG. 12 is a flowchart representative of example machine-readableinstructions that may be executed to implement the example meter ofFIGS. 1 and/or 2 to update a selected audio sensor configuration basedon an automated test of different audio sensor configurations.

FIG. 13 is an example data table representing signal to noise ratios ofidentified watermarks determined in connection with different audiosensor configurations.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of an example processor platform capable ofexecuting the machine-readable instructions of FIGS. 9, 10, 11, and/or12 to perform audio sensor selection in accordance with the teachings ofthis disclosure.

The figures are not to scale. Wherever possible, the same referencenumbers will be used throughout the drawing(s) and accompanying writtendescription to refer to the same or like parts.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Traditionally, audience measurement entities (also referred to herein as“ratings entities” or “monitoring companies”) determine demographicreach for advertising and media programming based on registered panelmembers. That is, an audience measurement entity enrolls people thatconsent to being monitored into a panel. During enrollment, the audiencemeasurement entity receives demographic information from the enrollingpeople so that subsequent correlations may be made betweenadvertisement/media exposure to those panelists and differentdemographic markets.

FIG. 1 is an illustration of an example audience measurement systemconstructed in accordance with the teachings of this disclosure toperform symbol based watermark detection. In the illustrated example ofFIG. 1, an example media presentation environment 102 includes examplepanelists 104, 106, an example media presentation device 110 thatreceives media from an example media source 112, and an example meter114. The meter 114 identifies the media presented by the mediapresentation device 110 and reports media monitoring information to anexample central facility 190 of an example audience measurement entityvia an example gateway 140 and an example network 180.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, the example media presentationenvironment 102 is a room of a household (e.g., a room in a home of apanelist, such as the home of a “Nielsen family”). In the illustratedexample of FIG. 1, the example panelists 104, 106 of the household havebeen statistically selected to develop media ratings data (e.g.,television ratings data) for a population/demographic of interest.People become panelists via, for example, a user interface presented ona media device (e.g., via the media presentation device 110, via awebsite, etc.). People become panelists in additional or alternativemanners such as, for example, via a telephone interview, by completingan online survey, etc. Additionally or alternatively, people may becontacted and/or enlisted using any desired methodology (e.g., randomselection, statistical selection, phone solicitations, Internetadvertisements, surveys, advertisements in shopping malls, productpackaging, etc.). In some examples, an entire family may be enrolled asa household of panelists. That is, while a mother, a father, a son, anda daughter may each be identified as individual panelists, their viewingactivities typically occur within the family's household.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, one or more panelists 104, 106 ofthe household have registered with an audience measurement entity (e.g.,by agreeing to be a panelist) and have provided their demographicinformation to the audience measurement entity as part of a registrationprocess to enable associating demographics with media exposureactivities (e.g., television exposure, radio exposure, Internetexposure, etc.). The demographic data includes, for example, age,gender, income level, educational level, marital status, geographiclocation, race, etc., of a panelist. While the example mediapresentation environment 102 is a household in the illustrated exampleof FIG. 1, the example media presentation environment 102 canadditionally or alternatively be any other type(s) of environments suchas, for example, a theater, a restaurant, a tavern, a retail location,an arena, etc.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, the example media presentationdevice 110 is a television. However, the example media presentationdevice 110 can correspond to any type of audio, video and/or multimediapresentation device capable of presenting media audibly and/or visually.In the illustrated example of FIG. 1, the media presentation device 110is in communication with an example audio/video receiver 118. In someexamples, the media presentation device 110 (e.g., a television) maycommunicate audio to another media presentation device (e.g., theaudio/video receiver 118) for output by one or more speakers (e.g.,surround sound speakers, a sound bar, etc.). As another example, themedia presentation device 110 can correspond to a multimedia computersystem, a personal digital assistant, a cellular/mobile smartphone, aradio, a home theater system, stored audio and/or video played back froma memory, such as a digital video recorder or a digital versatile disc,a webpage, and/or any other communication device capable of presentingmedia to an audience (e.g., the panelists 104, 106).

The media presentation device 110 receives media from the media source112. The media source 112 may be any type of media provider(s), such as,but not limited to, a cable media service provider, a radio frequency(RF) media provider, an Internet based provider (e.g., IPTV), asatellite media service provider, etc., and/or any combination thereof.The media may be radio media, television media, pay per view media,movies, Internet Protocol Television (IPTV), satellite television (TV),Internet radio, satellite radio, digital television, digital radio,stored media (e.g., a compact disk (CD), a Digital Versatile Disk (DVD),a Blu-ray disk, etc.), any other type(s) of broadcast, multicast and/orunicast medium, audio and/or video media presented (e.g., streamed) viathe Internet, a video game, targeted broadcast, satellite broadcast,video on demand, etc. For example, the media presentation device 110 cancorrespond to a television and/or display device that supports theNational Television Standards Committee (NTSC) standard, the PhaseAlternating Line (PAL) standard, the Systeme Electronique pour Couleuravec Mémoire (SECAM) standard, a standard developed by the AdvancedTelevision Systems Committee (ATSC), such as high definition television(HDTV), a standard developed by the Digital Video Broadcasting (DVB)Project, etc. Advertising, such as an advertisement and/or a preview ofother programming that is or will be offered by the media source 112,etc., is also typically included in the media.

In examples disclosed herein, an audience measurement entity providesthe meter 114 to the panelist 104, 106 (or household of panelists) suchthat the meter 114 may be installed by the panelist 104, 106 by simplypowering the meter 114 and placing the meter 114 in the mediapresentation environment 102 and/or near the media presentation device110 (e.g., near a television set). In some examples, the meter 114 maybe provided to the panelist 104, 106 by an entity other than theaudience measurement entity. In some examples, more complex installationactivities may be performed such as, for example, affixing the meter 114to the media presentation device 110, electronically connecting themeter 114 to the media presentation device 110, etc. The example meter114 detects exposure to media and electronically stores monitoringinformation (e.g., a code detected with the presented media, a signatureof the presented media, an identifier of a panelist present at the timeof the presentation, a timestamp of the time of the presentation) of thepresented media. The stored monitoring information is then transmittedback to the central facility 190 via the gateway 140 and the network180. While the media monitoring information is transmitted by electronictransmission in the illustrated example of FIG. 1, the media monitoringinformation may additionally or alternatively be transferred in anyother manner such as, for example, by physically mailing the meter 114,by physically mailing a memory of the meter 114, etc.

The meter 114 of the illustrated example combines audience measurementdata and people metering data. For example, audience measurement data isdetermined by monitoring media output by the media presentation device110 and/or other media presentation device(s), and audienceidentification data (also referred to as demographic data, peoplemonitoring data, etc.) is determined from people monitoring dataprovided to the meter 114. Thus, the example meter 114 provides dualfunctionality of an audience measurement meter that is to collectaudience measurement data, and a people meter that is to collect and/orassociate demographic information corresponding to the collectedaudience measurement data.

For example, the meter 114 of the illustrated example collects mediaidentifying information and/or data (e.g., signature(s), fingerprint(s),code(s), tuned channel identification information, time of exposureinformation, etc.) and people data (e.g., user identifiers, demographicdata associated with audience members, etc.). The media identifyinginformation and the people data can be combined to generate, forexample, media exposure data (e.g., ratings data) indicative ofamount(s) and/or type(s) of people that were exposed to specificpiece(s) of media distributed via the media presentation device 110. Toextract media identification data, the meter 114 of the illustratedexample of FIG. 1 monitors for watermarks (sometimes referred to ascodes) included in the presented media.

In examples disclosed herein, to monitor media presented by the mediapresentation device 110, the meter 114 of the illustrated example sensesaudio (e.g., acoustic signals or ambient audio) output (e.g., emitted)by the media presentation device 110 and/or some other audio presentingsystem (e.g., the audio/video receiver 118 of FIG. 1). For example, themeter 114 processes the signals obtained from the media presentationdevice 110 to detect media and/or source identifying signals (e.g.,audio watermarks) embedded in portion(s) (e.g., audio portions) of themedia presented by the media presentation device 110. To, for example,sense ambient audio output by the media presentation device 110, themeter 114 of the illustrated example includes multiple example audiosensor (e.g., microphone(s) and/or other acoustic sensors). In someexamples, the meter 114 may process audio signals obtained from themedia presentation device 110 via a direct cable connection to detectmedia and/or source identifying audio watermarks embedded in such audiosignals.

In some examples, the media presentation device 110 utilizes rear-facingspeakers. When rear-facing speakers are used, using a forward-facingaudio sensor in the meter 114 to receive audio output by the rear-facingspeakers does not typically facilitate good recognition of thewatermark(s). In contrast, when a rear-facing audio sensor of the meter114 is used in connection with rear-facing speakers, better recognitionof the watermarks included in the audio output by the media presentationdevice can be achieved. In examples disclosed herein, audio sensor(s) ofthe meter 114 are selected to facilitate the best possible watermarkrecognition. For example, when the media presentation device is usingrear-facing speakers, rear-facing audio sensor(s) of the meter 114 maybe used; when the media presentation device 110 is using front-facingspeakers, front-facing audio sensor(s) of the meter 114 may be used.Moreover, different configurations of audio sensor(s) of the meter 114may be used to, for example, account for different acoustic environmentsresulting in different recognition levels of watermarks, account fordifferently configured audio systems (e.g., a sound bar system, a 5.1surround sound system, a 7.1 surround sound system, etc.), differentconfigurations being used based on a selected input to the mediapresentation device 110 (e.g., surround sound speakers may be used whenpresenting a movie, whereas rear-facing speakers may be used whenpresenting broadcast television, etc.)

In some examples, the meter 114 can be physically coupled to the mediapresentation device 110, may be configured to capture audio emittedexternally by the media presenting device 110 (e.g., free field audio)such that direct physical coupling to an audio output of the mediapresenting device 110 is not required. For example, the meter 114 of theillustrated example may employ non-invasive monitoring not involving anyphysical connection to the media presentation device 110 (e.g., viaBluetooth® connection, WIFI® connection, acoustic watermarking, etc.)and/or invasive monitoring involving one or more physical connections tothe media presentation device 110 (e.g., via USB connection, a HighDefinition Media Interface (HDMI) connection, an Ethernet cableconnection, etc.). In some examples, invasive monitoring may be used tofacilitate a determination of which audio sensor(s) should be used bythe meter 114. For example, the meter 114 may be connected to the mediapresentation device using a Universal Serial Bus (USB) cable such that aspeaker configuration of the media presentation device 110 can beidentified to the meter 114. Based on this information, the meter 114may select the appropriate audio sensor(s) best suited for monitoringthe audio output by the media presentation device 110. For example, ifthe media presentation device 110 indicated that front-facing speakerswere being used, the meter 114 may select the front-facing audiosensor(s) for monitoring the output audio.

To generate exposure data for the media, identification(s) of media towhich the audience is exposed are correlated with people data (e.g.,presence information) collected by the meter 114. The meter 114 of theillustrated example collects inputs (e.g., audience identification data)representative of the identities of the audience member(s) (e.g., thepanelists 104, 106). In some examples, the meter 114 collects audienceidentification data by periodically or a-periodically prompting audiencemembers in the media presentation environment 102 to identify themselvesas present in the audience. In some examples, the meter 114 responds topredetermined events (e.g., when the media presenting device 110 isturned on, a channel is changed, an infrared control signal is detected,etc.) by prompting the audience member(s) to self-identify. The audienceidentification data and the exposure data can then be complied with thedemographic data collected from audience members such as, for example,the panelists 104, 106 during registration to develop metricsreflecting, for example, the demographic composition of the audience.The demographic data includes, for example, age, gender, income level,educational level, marital status, geographic location, race, etc., ofthe panelist.

In some examples, the meter 114 may be configured to receive panelistinformation via an input device such as, for example a remote control,an Apple® iPad®, a cell phone, etc. In such examples, the meter 114prompts the audience members to indicate their presence by pressing anappropriate input key on the input device. The meter 114 of theillustrated example may also determine times at which to prompt theaudience members to enter information to the meter 114. In someexamples, the meter 114 of FIG. 1 supports audio watermarking for peoplemonitoring, which enables the meter 114 to detect the presence of apanelist-identifying metering device in the vicinity (e.g., in the mediapresentation environment 102) of the media presentation device 110. Forexample, the audio sensor(s) of the meter 114 may be able to senseexample audio output (e.g., emitted) by an example panelist-identifyingmetering device such as, for example, a wristband, a cell phone, etc.that is uniquely associated with a particular panelist. The audio outputby the example panelist-identifying metering device may include, forexample one or more audio watermarks to facilitate identification of thepanelist-identifying metering device and/or the panelist 104 associatedwith the panelist-identifying metering device.

The meter 114 of the illustrated example communicates with a remotelylocated central facility 190 of the audience measurement entity. In theillustrated example of FIG. 1, the example meter 114 communicates withthe central facility 190 via a gateway 140 and a network 180. Theexample metering device 114 of FIG. 1 sends media identification dataand/or audience identification data to the central facility 190periodically, a-periodically and/or upon request by the central facility190.

The example gateway 140 of the illustrated example of FIG. 1 is a routerthat enables the meter 114 and/or other devices in the mediapresentation environment (e.g., the media presentation device 110) tocommunicate with the network 180 (e.g., the Internet.)

In some examples, the example gateway 140 facilitates delivery of mediafrom the media source(s) 112 to the media presentation device 110 viathe Internet. In some examples, the example gateway 140 includes gatewayfunctionality such as modem capabilities. In some other examples, theexample gateway 140 is implemented in two or more devices (e.g., arouter, a modem, a switch, a firewall, etc.). The gateway 140 of theillustrated example may communicate with the network 126 via Ethernet, adigital subscriber line (DSL), a telephone line, a coaxial cable, a USBconnection, a Bluetooth connection, any wireless connection, etc.

In some examples, the example gateway 140 hosts a Local Area Network(LAN) for the media presentation environment 102. In the illustratedexample, the LAN is a wireless local area network (WLAN), and allows themeter 114, the media presentation device 110, etc. to transmit and/orreceive data via the Internet. Alternatively, the gateway 140 may becoupled to such a LAN. In some examples, the example gateway 140 isimplemented by a cellular communication system and may, for example,enable the meter 114 to transmit information to the central facility 190using a cellular connection.

The network 180 of the illustrated example is a wide area network (WAN)such as the Internet. However, in some examples, local networks mayadditionally or alternatively be used. Moreover, the example network 180may be implemented using any type of public or private network such as,but not limited to, the Internet, a telephone network, a local areanetwork (LAN), a cable network, and/or a wireless network, or anycombination thereof.

The central facility 190 of the illustrated example is implemented byone or more servers. The central facility 190 processes and stores datareceived from the meter(s) 114. For example, the example centralfacility 190 of FIG. 1 combines audience identification data and programidentification data from multiple households to generate aggregatedmedia monitoring information. The central facility 190 generates areport(s) for advertisers, program producers and/or other interestedparties based on the compiled statistical data. Such reports includeextrapolations about the size and demographic composition of audiencesof content, channels and/or advertisements based on the demographics andbehavior of the monitored panelists.

As noted above, the meter 114 of the illustrated example provides acombination of media metering and people metering. The meter 114 of FIG.1 includes its own housing, processor, memory and/or software to performthe desired media monitoring and/or people monitoring functions. Theexample meter 114 of FIG. 1 is a stationary device disposed on or nearthe media presentation device 110. To identify and/or confirm thepresence of a panelist present in the media presentation environment102, the example meter 114 of the illustrated example includes adisplay. For example, the display provides identification of thepanelists 104, 106 present in the media presentation environment 102.For example, in the illustrated example, the meter 114 displays indicia(e.g., illuminated numerical numerals 1, 2, 3, etc.) identifying and/orconfirming the presence of the first panelist 104, the second panelist106, etc. In the illustrated example, the meter 114 is affixed to a topof the media presentation device 110. However, the meter 114 may beaffixed to the media presentation device in any other orientation suchas, for example, on a side of the media presentation device 110, on thebottom of the media presentation device 110, and/or may not be affixedto the media presentation device 110. For example, the meter 114 may beplaced in a location near the media presentation device 110.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating an example implementation of theexample meter 114 of FIG. 1. The example meter 114 of FIG. 2 includesexample audio sensors 202, 204, 206, 208, an example audio sensorselector 210, an example configuration memory 220, an example mediaidentifier 230, an example selection tester 240, an exampleconfiguration interface, 245, an example audience measurement datacontroller 250, an example data store 255, an example networkcommunicator 260, an example people identifier 270, an example powerreceiver 280, and an example battery 285.

The example audio sensors 202, 204, 206, 208 of the illustrated exampleof FIG. 2 are implemented by microphones and/or other acoustic sensors.The example audio sensors 202, 204, 206, 208 each receive ambient sound(e.g., free field audio) including audible media presented in thevicinity of the meter 114. Alternatively, one or more of the audiosensor(s) 202, 204, 206, 208 may be implemented by a line inputconnection. The line input connection may allow one or more externalmicrophone(s) to be used with the meter 114 and/or, in some examples,may enable one or more of the audio sensor 202, 204, 206, 208 to bedirectly connected to an output of a media presentation device (e.g., anauxiliary output of a television, an auxiliary output of an audio/videoreceiver of a home entertainment system, etc.) Advantageously, the meter114 is positioned in a location such that the audio sensor 202, 204,206, 208 receives ambient audio produced by the television and/or otherdevices of the home entertainment system with sufficient quality toidentify media presented by the media presentation device 110 and/orother devices of the media presentation environment 102 (e.g., theaudio/video receiver 118). For example, in examples disclosed herein,the meter 120 may be placed on top of the television, secured to thebottom of the television, etc.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 2, four audio sensors 202, 204, 206,208 are shown. Each of the four audio sensors 202, 204, 206, 208corresponds to a front-right microphone, a front-left microphone, arear-right microphone, and a rear-left microphone, respectively. Whilefour audio sensors are used in the illustrated example of FIG. 2, anynumber of audio sensors may additionally or alternatively be used.Example placements of the example audio sensors 202, 204, 206, 208 onthe meter 114 are shown below in the illustrated examples of FIGS. 3, 4,and/or 5.

The example audio sensor selector 210 of the illustrated example of FIG.2 combines audio received by the audio sensors 202, 204, 206, 208 toprepare a combined audio signal for analysis by the media identifier230. In some examples, the example audio sensor selector 210 combinesthe audio received by the audio sensor 202, 204, 206, 208 by mixing theaudio. In examples disclosed herein, the example audio sensor selector210 consults the example configuration memory 220 to identify whichaudio sensors 202, 204, 206, 208 should have their respective receivedaudio signals passed through to the media identifier 230. Conversely, insome examples, the example audio sensor selector 210 may identify whichaudio sensors 202, 204, 206, 208 should not be passed (e.g., should beblocked), and blocks those audio sensor(s) 202, 204, 206, 208accordingly.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 2, the example audio sensor selector210 adds the audio waveforms received via each of the selected audiosensor(s) 202, 204, 206, 208. However, in some examples, additionalprocessing may be performed such as, for example, applying respectivegain(s) to one or more of the selected audio sensor(s) 202, 204, 206,208. For example, the audio signal received via the first audio sensor202 may be amplified by a factor of two and may be combined with theaudio signal received via the second audio sensor 204 to create acombined audio signal for analysis by the media identifier 230. Inexamples disclosed herein, the audio waveform(s) received via each ofthe selected audio sensor(s) 202, 204, 206, 206 are combined in the timedomain. However, the audio waveform(s) may be combined in any otherfashion. For example, the example audio waveform(s) may be combined inthe frequency domain. Moreover, in examples disclosed herein, theexample audio waveform(s) are combined prior to digitization. However,in some examples, the example audio waveform(s) may be combined afterdigitization.

The example configuration memory 220 of the illustrated example of FIG.2 stores an audio sensor configuration identifying which of the audiosensors 202, 204, 206, 208 should be selected by the audio sensorselector 210 to form the audio signal to be processed by the mediaidentifier 230. However, any other additional configuration and/oroperational information may additionally or alternatively be stored. Forexample, WiFi credentials to be used by the network communicator 260,panelist and/or household identifier(s), etc. may be stored in theconfiguration memory 220. The example configuration memory 220 may beupdated by, for example, the configuration interface 245 and/or theselection tester 240. The example configuration memory 220 of theillustrated example of FIG. 2 may be implemented by any device forstoring data such as, for example, flash memory, magnetic media, opticalmedia, etc. Furthermore, the data stored in the example configurationmemory 220 may be in any data format such as, for example, binary data,comma delimited data, tab delimited data, structured query language(SQL) structures, etc.

The example media identifier 230 of the illustrated example of FIG. 2analyzes audio received via one or more of the audio sensor(s) 202, 204,206, 208 and identifies the media being presented. The example mediaidentifier 230 of the illustrated example outputs an identifier of themedia (e.g., media-identifying information) to the audience measurementdata controller 250. In the illustrated example of FIG. 2, the examplemedia identifier 230 outputs a quality metric of the media identifier.As used herein, a quality metric is defined to be any valuerepresentative of a strength and/or quality of a detectedwatermark/code. In examples disclosed herein, the quality metric is asignal-to-noise ratio. However, any other quality metric mayadditionally or alternatively be used such as, for example, a score, abit error rate (BER), a volume level, etc. Moreover, in some examples,different values representative of the strength and/or quality of thedetected watermark/code may be combined to form the quality metric. Forexample, a signal to noise ratio may be combined with a BER to form thequality metric.

In examples disclosed herein, the media identifier 230 utilizes audiowatermarking techniques to identify the media. Audio watermarking is atechnique used to identify media such as television broadcasts, radiobroadcasts, advertisements (television and/or radio), downloaded media,streaming media, prepackaged media, etc. Existing audio watermarkingtechniques identify media by embedding one or more audio codes (e.g.,one or more watermarks), such as media identifying information and/orone or more identifier(s) that may be mapped to media identifyinginformation, into an audio and/or video component of the media. In someexamples, the audio and/or video component of the media is selected tohave a signal characteristic sufficient to hide the watermark. As usedherein, the terms “code” and/or “watermark” are used interchangeably andare defined to mean any identification information (e.g., an identifier)that may be inserted or embedded in the audio or video of media (e.g., aprogram or advertisement) for the purpose of identifying the media orfor another purpose such as tuning (e.g., a packet identifying header).As used herein “media” refers to audio and/or visual (still or moving)content and/or advertisements. In some examples, to identify watermarkedmedia, the watermark(s) are extracted and used to access a table ofreference watermarks that are mapped to media identifying information.

In some examples, the media identifier 230 may utilize signature-basedmedia identification techniques. Unlike media monitoring techniquesbased on codes and/or watermarks included with and/or embedded in themonitored media, fingerprint or signature-based media monitoringtechniques generally use one or more inherent characteristics of themonitored media during a monitoring time interval to generate asubstantially unique proxy for the media. Such a proxy is referred to asa signature or fingerprint, and can take any form (e.g., a series ofdigital values, a waveform, etc.) representative of any aspect(s) of themedia signal(s) (e.g., the audio and/or video signals forming the mediapresentation being monitored). A signature may be a series of signaturescollected in series over a time interval. A good signature is repeatablewhen processing the same media presentation, but is unique relative toother (e.g., different) presentations of other (e.g., different) media.Accordingly, the term “fingerprint” and “signature” are usedinterchangeably herein and are defined herein to mean a proxy foridentifying media that is generated from one or more inherentcharacteristics of the media.

Signature-based media monitoring generally involves determining (e.g.,generating and/or collecting) signature(s) representative of a mediasignal (e.g., an audio signal and/or a video signal) output by amonitored media device and comparing the monitored signature(s) to oneor more references signatures corresponding to known (e.g., reference)media sources. Various comparison criteria, such as a cross-correlationvalue, a Hamming distance, etc., can be evaluated to determine whether amonitored signature matches a particular reference signature. When amatch between the monitored signature and one of the referencesignatures is found, the monitored media can be identified ascorresponding to the particular reference media represented by thereference signature that matched the monitored signature. Becauseattributes, such as an identifier of the media, a presentation time, abroadcast channel, etc., are collected for the reference signature,these attributes may then be associated with the monitored media whosemonitored signature matched the reference signature. Example systems foridentifying media based on codes and/or signatures are long known andwere first disclosed in Thomas, U.S. Pat. No. 5,481,294, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety.

The example selection tester 240 of the illustrated example of FIG. 2identifies possible configurations of audio sensor(s) that might be usedto receive audio. The example selection tester 240 instructs the exampleaudio sensor selector 210 to iterate through different possibleconfiguration(s) of audio sensor(s), and monitors an output of the mediaidentifier 230 indicating a signal to noise ratio of the detectedmedia-identifying information (e.g., a watermark) for the respectiveconfiguration(s). The example selection tester 240 then selects aconfiguration of audio sensor(s) that has a desired, or best (e.g.,greatest) signal to noise ratio, and updates the configuration memory toidentify the selected configuration. The selected configuration is thenused by the audio sensor selector 210 to select the audio sensors thatshould have their inputs passed through to the media identifier 230.

In examples disclosed herein, the example selection tester 240 testssignal to noise ratios of the configurations periodically (e.g., everytwo minutes, every ten minutes, every hour, etc.). Periodic testingreduces a likelihood that media identifying information might be missedas a result of a user changing the configuration of the audio output ofthe media presentation device 110. For example, the configuration of theaudio system might be modified if the user were to change from abroadcast television input (which might use rear-facing speakers) to aBlu-ray disk input (which might use a surround sound system). Moreover,other changes in the environment might cause variations in themedia-identification performance of one audio sensor configuration overanother such as, for example, a window being opened, a differentarrangement of furniture, or any other change(s) in the mediapresentation environment 102 that might affect the ability of the mediaidentifier 230 to identify media, etc.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 2, the example selection tester 240performs testing and/or analysis of the signal to noise ratios of theconfigurations at the meter 114. However, such analysis may additionallyor alternatively be performed at any other location such as, forexample, the central facility 190, a configuration devicecommunicatively coupled to the meter 114, etc. In some examples, thecentral facility 190 performs the analysis of audio collected by thevarious audio sensor configurations of the meter 114 and communicatesconfiguration information to the meter 114. In some examples, thecentral facility 190 may provide other configuration information and/oroperational parameters to the meter 114 such as, for example, anindication of which audio sensor configurations should be omitted fromanalysis, threshold levels (e.g., a signal to noise threshold describedin connection with block 940 of FIG. 9, below), instructions on howoften testing and/or analysis is to be performed, etc.

The example configuration interface 245 of the illustrated example ofFIG. 2 receives configuration inputs from a user and/or installer of themeter 114. In some examples, the configuration interface 245 enables theuser and/or the installer to indicate the audio sensor configuration tobe stored in the configuration memory 220 and be used by the audiosensor selector 210. In some examples, the configuration interface 245enables the user and/or the installer to control other operationalparameters of the meter 114 such as, for example, WiFi credentials to beused by the network communicator 260, set a household and/or panelistidentifier(s), etc. In the illustrated example of FIG. 2, theconfiguration interface 245 is implemented by a Bluetooth Low Energyradio. However, the configuration interface 245 may be implemented inany other fashion such as, for example, an infrared input, a universalserial bus (USB) connection, a serial connection, an Ethernetconnection, etc. In some examples, the configuration interface 245enables the meter 114 to be communicatively coupled to a media devicesuch as, for example, the media presentation device 110. Such acommunicative coupling enables the configuration interface 245 to, forexample, detect an audio configuration of the media presentation device110 such that the configuration memory 220 may be updated to select theaudio sensor(s) 202, 204, 206, 208 corresponding to the selected audioconfiguration of the media presentation device 110. For example, if themedia presentation device were using rear-facing speakers, the audiosensor(s) corresponding to rear-facing microphones may be identified inthe configuration memory 220.

The example audience measurement data controller 250 of the illustratedexample of FIG. 2 receives media identifying information (e.g., a code,a signature, etc.) from the media identifier 230 and audienceidentification data from the people identifier 270, and stores thereceived information in the data store 255. The example audiencemeasurement data controller 250 periodically and/or a-periodicallytransmits, via the network communicator 260, the audience measurementinformation stored in the data store 255 to the central facility 190 foraggregation and/or preparation of media monitoring reports.

The example data store 255 of the illustrated example of FIG. 2 may beimplemented by any device for storing data such as, for example, flashmemory, magnetic media, optical media, etc. Furthermore, the data storedin the example data store 255 may be in any data format such as, forexample, binary data, comma delimited data, tab delimited data,structured query language (SQL) structures, etc. In the illustratedexample, the example data store 255 stores media identifying informationcollected by the media identifier 230 and audience identification datacollected by the people identifier 270. In some examples, the exampledata store 255 additionally stores panelist demographic information suchthat received user identifiers of the audience measurement data can betranslated into demographic information prior to transmission to thecentral facility 190.

The example people identifier 270 of the illustrated example of FIG. 2determines audience identification data representative of the identitiesof the audience member(s) (e.g., panelists) present in the mediapresentation environment 102. In some examples, the people identifier270 collects audience identification data by periodically ora-periodically prompting audience members in the media presentationenvironment 102 to identify themselves as present in the audience.Panelists may identify themselves by, for example, pressing a button ona remote, speaking their name, etc. In some examples, the peopleidentifier 270 prompts the audience member(s) to self-identify inresponse to one or more predetermined events (e.g., when the mediapresentation device 110 is turned on, a channel is changed, an infraredcontrol signal is detected, etc.). The people identifier 270 providesthe audience identification data to the audience measurement datacontroller such that the audience measurement data can be correlatedwith the media identification data to facilitate an identification ofwhich media was presented to which audience member.

The example network communicator 260 of the illustrated example of FIG.2 transmits audience measurement information provided by the audiencemeasurement data controller 250 (e.g., data stored in the data store255) to the central facility 190 of the audience measurement entity. Inthe illustrated example, the network communicator 260 is implemented byWiFi antenna that communicates with a WiFi network hosted by the examplegateway 140 of FIG. 1. However, in some examples, the networkcommunicator may additionally or alternatively be implemented by anEthernet port that communicates via an Ethernet network (e.g., a localarea network (LAN)). While the example meter 114 communicates data tothe central facility 190 via the example gateway 140 in the illustratedexample of FIG. 1, data may be transmitted to the central facility 190in any other fashion. For example, the network communicator 260 may beimplemented by a cellular radio, and the example gateway 140 may be acellular base station. In some examples, the example gateway 140 may beomitted and the example network communicator 260 may transmit datadirectly to the central facility 190.

The example power receiver 280 of the illustrated example of FIG. 2 isimplemented as a universal serial bus (USB) receptacle and enables themeter 114 to be connected to a power source via a cable (e.g., a USBcable). In examples disclosed herein, the media presentation device 110has a USB port that provides electrical power to, for example, anexternal device such as the meter 114. In some examples, the mediapresentation device 110 may provide power to an external device via adifferent type of port such as, for example, a High Definition MediaInterface (HDMI) port, an Ethernet port, etc. The example power receiver280 may be implemented in any fashion to facilitate receipt ofelectrical power from the media presentation device 110 or any otherpower source (e.g., a wall outlet). In some examples, the power receiver280 may additionally or alternatively facilitate diagnosticcommunications with the media presentation device 110. For example, theconfiguration interface 245 may communicate with the media presentationdevice 110 via the connection provided by the power receiver 280 (e.g.,a USB port) to, for example, determine whether the media presentationdevice 110 is powered on, determine which input is being presented viathe media presentation device 110, determine which speakers are beingused by the media presentation device 110. In some examples, theconnection is an HDMI connection, and the configuration interface 245communicates with the media presentation device 110 using an HDMIConsumer Electronics Control (CEC) protocol.

The example battery 285 of the illustrated example of FIG. 2 storespower for use by the meter 114. The example battery 285 enablesoperation of the meter 114 when power is not being supplied to the meter114 via the power receiver 280. In the illustrated example of FIG. 2,the example battery is implemented using a lithium-ion battery. However,any other type of battery may additionally or alternatively be used. Inthe illustrated example of FIG. 2, the example battery 285 isrechargeable. As such, the example battery 285 may be recharged whilethe meter 114 receives power via the power receiver 280 (e.g., while themedia presentation device 110 is powered on), to facilitate operation ofthe meter 114 when the meter 114 is not receiving power via the powerreceiver 280 (e.g., while the media presentation device 110 is poweredoff). However, in some examples, the example battery 285 may benon-rechargeable.

FIG. 3 is an example front view of the example meter 114 of FIGS. 1and/or 2. In the illustrated example of FIG. 3, the example meter 114includes a housing 310. In examples disclosed herein, the housing 310 isto be affixed to the media presentation device 110. For example, thehousing may be affixed to a top of the media presentation device 110,may be affixed to a bottom of the media presentation device 110, may beaffixed to a side of the media presentation device 110, etc. In someexamples, the housing 310 of the meter 114 is not affixed to the mediapresentation device 110. For example, the housing 310 may be placed inany other location within the media presentation environment 102 suchthat audio may be received by the meter 114.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 3, the example housing 310 includesan example front left opening 320 and an example front right opening325. The front openings 320, 325 enable free-field audio in front of thehousing to be received by the example audio sensors 202, 204, 206, 208,that are positioned towards the front of the meter 114. In theillustrated example of FIG. 3, the front openings 320, 325 aresymmetrically aligned on the face of the meter 114. However, the frontopenings 320, 325 may be arranged in any other fashion. Moreover, whiletwo front openings 320, 325 are shown in the illustrated example of FIG.3, any other number of openings may additionally or alternatively beused. For example, there may be three openings on the front face of thehousing 310, there may be four openings on the front face of the housing310, etc.

FIG. 4 is an example rear view of the example meter 114 of FIGS. 1and/or 2. In the illustrated example of FIG. 4, the example housing 310includes an example rear left opening 430 and an example rear rightopening 435. The rear openings 430, 435 enable free field audio in therear of the housing 310 to be received by the example audio sensors 202,204, 206, 208, that are positioned towards the rear of the meter 114. Inthe illustrated example of FIG. 4, the rear openings 430, 435 aresymmetrically aligned on the rear of the meter 114. However, the rearopenings 430, 435 may be arranged in any other fashion. Moreover, tworear openings 430, 435 are shown while in the illustrated example ofFIG. 4, any other number of openings may additionally or alternativelybe used.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 4, the housing 310 includes a USBport 440. In the illustrated example of FIG. 4, the USB port 440 enablesa USB cable 445 to connect the power receiver 280 of FIG. 2 to anexternal power source (e.g., a power source provided by the mediapresentation device 110). However, any other type(s) and/or number(s) ofports, cables, power source(s), etc. may additionally or alternativelybe used.

FIG. 5 is an example top view of the example meter 114 of FIGS. 1 and/or2. In the illustrated example of FIG. 5, the front openings 320, 325 andthe rear openings 430, 435 are shown along an outline of the housing310. Inside the housing 310, an example circuit board 505 (e.g., acircuit board that carries the example components of the example meter114 of FIG. 2) is shown. In the illustrated example FIG. 5, a singlecircuit board 505 is shown. However, the example meter 114 may includemultiple circuit boards such that components may be positioned to moreeffectively utilize the space available within the housing 310.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 5, the first audio sensor 202 isconnected to the circuit board 505, and is positioned adjacent to thefront left opening 320. The second audio sensor 204 is connected to thecircuit board 505, and is positioned adjacent to the front right opening325. The third audio sensor 206 is connected to the circuit board 505,and is positioned adjacent to the rear left opening 430. The fourthaudio sensor 208 is connected to the circuit board 505, and ispositioned adjacent to the rear right opening 435. As a result, freefield audio that is passed through the openings 320, 325, 430, 435 ofthe housing 310 is picked up by the respective audio sensor 202, 204,206, 208.

FIG. 6 is a diagram representing an example configuration of the mediapresentation environment 102 of FIG. 1 where rear-facing speakers areused. In the illustrated example of FIG. 6, the media presentationdevice 110 is mounted to a wall 605 of the media presentationenvironment 102. However, in other examples the media presentationdevice 110 may not be mounted to the wall 605 and may instead, forexample, be placed upon furniture within the media presentationenvironment 102, may be affixed to a ceiling of the media presentationenvironment 102, etc. In the illustrated example of FIG. 6, the mediapresentation device 110 is positioned such that a display 610 of themedia presentation device 110 is facing into the media presentationenvironment 102 (e.g., into the room) such that the display 610 isviewable by the panelists 104, 106.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 6, the media presentation device 110uses rear facing speakers 620, 625. In such an example, front facingaudio sensor(s) of the meter 114 might not produce a reliableidentification of the media presented by the media presentation device110. In contrast, rear facing audio sensor(s) of the meter 114 may bemore likely to produce a reliable identification of the media presentedby the media presentation device. In the illustrated example of FIG. 6,the rear facing speakers 620, 625 are components of the mediapresentation device 110. However, in some examples the speakers 620, 625may be components of a separate media device such as, for example, asound bar, a surround sound system, etc.

FIG. 7 is a diagram representing an example configuration of the mediapresentation environment 102 of FIG. 1 where front-facing speakers areused. As described above in connection with the illustrated example ofFIG. 6, the media presentation device 110 is mounted to the wall 605.However, in other examples the media presentation device 110 may bepositioned in any other location within the example media presentationenvironment 102. In contrast to the illustrated example of FIG. 6, inthe illustrated example of FIG. 7, the media presentation device 110uses front facing speakers 720, 725. In illustrated example of FIG. 7,rear facing audio sensor(s) of the meter 114 for might not producereliable identifications of the media presented by the mediapresentation device 110. Front facing audio sensor(s) of the meter 114,however, are more likely to produce a reliable identification of themedia presented by the media presentation device. In the illustratedexample of FIG. 7, the front facing speakers 720, 725 are components ofthe media presentation device 110. However, in some examples thespeakers 720, 725 may be components of a separate media device such as,for example, a sound bar, a surround sound system, etc.

FIG. 8 is a diagram representing an example configuration of the mediapresentation environment 102 of FIG. 1, where a surround sound speakersystem is used. In the illustrated example of FIG. 8, the mediapresentation device 110 is mounted to the wall 605. However, in otherexamples the media presentation device 110 may be positioned in anyother location within the example media presentation environment 102. Inthe illustrated example of FIG. 8, audio is emitted from surround soundspeakers. In some examples, the speakers may be communicatively coupledwith the media presentation device 110 via for example, an audio/videoreceiver (e.g., the audio/video receiver 118 of FIG. 1).

In the illustrated example of FIG. 8, the surround sound system includesa center channel speaker 810, a subwoofer 815, a front left channelspeaker 820, a front right channel speaker 825, a rear left channelspeaker 830, and a rear right channel speaker 835. In illustratedexample of FIG. 8, the surround sounds system is arranged in a 5.1channel configuration. However, any other speaker configurationincluding any other number(s) of speakers, type(s) of speakers, and/orplacements thereof may additionally or alternatively be used. Forexample, the surround sound speaker system may be arranged in a 7.1surround-sound configuration. In illustrated example of FIG. 8,variations in the placement of the speakers of the surround sound systemmay result in different audio environments in which differentconfigurations of the audio sensor(s) of the example meter 114 mayresult in different levels of recognition of the media presented by themedia presentation device 110. For example, rear facing audio sensor(s)might be better suited if the center channel were positioned slightlybehind the media presentation device (e.g., towards the wall). Moreover,while in the illustrated example of FIG. 8, surround sound system havinga 5.1 channel configuration is used, some media sources right not takeadvantage of all 5.1 channels. For example, when presenting broadcasttelevision, the surround sound system might only present media in a 2.1format (e.g., the surround sound system might utilize the front leftspeaker 820, the front right speaker 825, and subwoofer 815). In such aconfiguration, the front facing audio sensor(s) of the meter 114 mightbe more effective at identifying the presented media.

As shown in the illustrated examples of FIGS. 6, 7, and/or 8, differentspeaker configurations may be used within the media presentationenvironment 102. In examples disclosed herein, the example meter 114 maybe configured based on the speaker configuration of the mediapresentation environment 102. Moreover, in some examples, theconfiguration of the speakers may be changed during a media presentation(e.g., as different media sources are selected for presentation by themedia presentation device 110). To account for such changes in theacoustic environment, the example meter 114 periodically analyzesdifferent configurations of audio sensors to select an audio sensorconfiguration that produces the best recognition results.

While an example manner of implementing the example meter 114 of FIG. 1is illustrated in FIG. 2, one or more of the elements, processes and/ordevices illustrated in FIG. 2 may be combined, divided, re-arranged,omitted, eliminated and/or implemented in any other way. Further, theexample audio sensor 202, 204, 206, 208, the example audio sensorselector 210, the example configuration memory 220, the example mediaidentifier 230, the example selection tester 240, the exampleconfiguration interface 245, the example audience measurement datacontroller 250, the example data store 255, the example networkcommunicator 260, the example people identifier 270, the example powerreceiver 280, the example battery 285, and/or, more generally, theexample meter 114 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 may be implemented by hardware,software, firmware and/or any combination of hardware, software and/orfirmware. Thus, for example, any of the example audio sensor 202, 204,206, 208, the example audio sensor selector 210, the exampleconfiguration memory 220, the example media identifier 230, the exampleselection tester 240, the example configuration interface 245, theexample audience measurement data controller 250, the example data store255, the example network communicator 260, the example people identifier270, the example power receiver 280, the example battery 285, and/or,more generally, the example meter 114 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 could beimplemented by one or more analog or digital circuit(s), logic circuits,programmable processor(s), application specific integrated circuit(s)(ASIC(s)), programmable logic device(s) (PLD(s)) and/or fieldprogrammable logic device(s) (FPLD(s)). When reading any of theapparatus or system claims of this patent to cover a purely softwareand/or firmware implementation, at least one of the example audio sensor202, 204, 206, 208, the example audio sensor selector 210, the exampleconfiguration memory 220, the example media identifier 230, the exampleselection tester 240, the example configuration interface 245, theexample audience measurement data controller 250, the example data store255, the example network communicator 260, the example people identifier270, the example power receiver 280, the example battery 285, and/or,more generally, the example meter 114 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 is/are herebyexpressly defined to include a tangible computer readable storage deviceor storage disk such as a memory, a digital versatile disk (DVD), acompact disk (CD), a Blu-ray disk, etc. storing the software and/orfirmware. Further still, the example meter 114 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 mayinclude one or more elements, processes and/or devices in addition to,or instead of, those illustrated in FIG. 2, and/or may include more thanone of any or all of the illustrated elements, processes and devices.

Flowcharts representative of example machine readable instructions forimplementing the example meter 114 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 are shown inFIGS. 9, 10, 11, and/or 12. In these examples, the machine readableinstructions comprise a program(s) for execution by a processor such asthe processor 1412 shown in the example processor platform 1400discussed below in connection with FIG. 14. The program may be embodiedin software stored on a tangible computer readable storage medium suchas a CD-ROM, a floppy disk, a hard drive, a digital versatile disk(DVD), a Blu-ray disk, or a memory associated with the processor 1412,but the entire program and/or parts thereof could alternatively beexecuted by a device other than the processor 1412 and/or embodied infirmware or dedicated hardware. Further, although the example program(s)is/are described with reference to the flowchart(s) illustrated in FIGS.9, 10, 11, and/or 12, many other methods of implementing the examplemeter 114 may alternatively be used. For example, the order of executionof the blocks may be changed, and/or some of the blocks described may bechanged, eliminated, or combined.

As mentioned above, the example processes of FIGS. 9, 10, 11, and/or 12may be implemented using coded instructions (e.g., computer and/ormachine readable instructions) stored on a tangible computer readablestorage medium such as a hard disk drive, a flash memory, a read-onlymemory (ROM), a compact disk (CD), a digital versatile disk (DVD), acache, a random-access memory (RAM) and/or any other storage device orstorage disk in which information is stored for any duration (e.g., forextended time periods, permanently, for brief instances, for temporarilybuffering, and/or for caching of the information). As used herein, theterm tangible computer readable storage medium is expressly defined toinclude any type of computer readable storage device and/or storage diskand to exclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media. Asused herein, “tangible computer readable storage medium” and “tangiblemachine readable storage medium” are used interchangeably. Additionallyor alternatively, the example processes of FIGS. 9, 10, 11, and/or 12may be implemented using coded instructions (e.g., computer and/ormachine readable instructions) stored on a non-transitory computerand/or machine readable medium such as a hard disk drive, a flashmemory, a read-only memory, a compact disk, a digital versatile disk, acache, a random-access memory and/or any other storage device or storagedisk in which information is stored for any duration (e.g., for extendedtime periods, permanently, for brief instances, for temporarilybuffering, and/or for caching of the information). As used herein, theterm non-transitory computer readable medium is expressly defined toinclude any type of computer readable storage device and/or storage diskand to exclude propagating signals and to exclude transmission media. Asused herein, when the phrase “at least” is used as the transition termin a preamble of a claim, it is open-ended in the same manner as theterm “comprising” is open ended.

FIG. 9 is a flowchart representative of example machine-readableinstructions 900 that may be executed to implement the meter of FIGS. 1and/or 2 to perform media identification using a selected audio sensorconfiguration. The example program 900 the illustrated example of FIG. 9begins when the example audio sensor selector 210 identifies an audiosensor configuration stored in the configuration memory 220. (Block910). In the illustrated example of FIG. 9, the audio sensorconfiguration is stored in the configuration memory 220 by, for example,the configuration interface 245 and/or the example selection tester 240.In examples disclosed herein, the example audio sensor configuration isrepresented using a binary value corresponding to each of the audiosensors 202, 204, 206, 208. As such, in the illustrated example of FIG.9, different configurations of the example audio sensors 202, 204, 206,208, are represented using four bits of memory within the configurationmemory 220. However, the example audio sensor configuration may bestored in the example configuration memory in any other fashion. Forexample, respective gain values corresponding to each of the audiosensors 202, 204, 206, 208 may be stored in the example configurationmemory to, for example, enable the audio sensor selector 210 to applyrespective gain values (e.g., to increase/amplify an audio signalreceived via the audio sensor, to reduce an audio signal received viathe audio sensor) to the audio signals received via the example audiosensors 202, 204, 206, 208.

The example audio sensor selector 210 receives audio via the audiosensors 202, 204, 206, 208 and combines the received audio. (Block 920).In the illustrated example of FIG. 9, the received audio is mixedaccording to the audio sensor configuration retrieved from theconfiguration memory 220 in block 910. The combined audio is passed tothe media identifier 230. The example media identifier 230 attempts toidentify the media. (Block 930). When attempting to identify the media,the example media identifier 230 determines identifier of the media(e.g., a value of a detected watermark/code), and a signal-to-noiseratio corresponding to the strength of the detected watermark/code. Asnoted above, while a signal-to-noise ratio is used in examples disclosedherein, any other quality metric may additionally or alternatively beused.

The example audience measurement data controller 250 inspects thesignal-to-noise ratio of the identified media to determine whether thesignal-to-noise ratio is greater than a signal-to-noise threshold.(Block 940). If, for example, the signal-to-noise ratio of thedetermined media identifier was low (e.g., there is a low confidence inthe determined media identifier), the example audience measurement datacontroller 250 may discard the determined media identifier. Control thenproceeds to block 910 where the example processing of blocks 910 through940 are repeated. If the example audience measurement data controller250 determines that the signal-to-noise ratio of the identified media isgreater than the signal-to-noise threshold (block 940 returns a resultof YES), the example audience measurement data controller 250 stores thedetermined media identifier in the data store 255. (Block 950). Theexample process 900 illustrated example of FIG. 9 is then continuallyrepeated to continually attempt to identify media. As disclosed inconnection with the illustrated example of FIG. 10, the mediaidentifiers may then be transmitted to the central facility 190 forcrediting and/or preparation of a report(s) summarizing media exposure.

FIG. 10 is a flowchart representative of example machine-readableinstructions 1000 that may be executed to implement the example meter114 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2 to transmit media monitoring information to theexample central facility 190 of FIG. 1. The example program 1000 of FIG.10 begins at block 1010 when the audience measurement data controller250 determines whether a data storage threshold has been exceeded (block1010). In the illustrated example, the threshold is a time limitspecifying that monitoring data is transmitted once every day.Additionally or alternatively, any other periodic and/or aperiodicapproach to transmitting monitoring information from the meter 114 maybe used. For example, the data threshold might be based on an amount ofmonitoring information stored in the data store 255.

If the threshold has not been exceeded (block 1010 returns a result ofNO) the audience measurement data controller 250 continues to determinewhether the monitoring data threshold has been exceeded. When themonitoring data threshold has been exceeded (Block 1010 returns a resultof YES), the audience measurement data controller 250 transmits, via thenetwork communicator 260, the stored monitoring information to thecentral facility 190. In the illustrated example, the networkcommunicator 260 transmits the stored monitoring information via gateway140 and the network 180. However, in some examples, the networkcommunicator 260 transmits the stored network communications via a localconnection such as, for example, a serial connection, a universal serialbus (USB) connection, a Bluetooth connection, etc. When the networkcommunicator 260 transmits via the local connection, the meter 114 maybe physically moved to a location of the central facility 190 by, forexample, physically mailing the meter 114, etc.

FIG. 11 is a flowchart representative of example machine-readableinstructions that may be executed to implement the example meter ofFIGS. 1 and/or 2 to update a selected audio sensor configuration usingan input from the example configuration interface 245. The exampleprocess 1100 the illustrated example of FIG. 11 begins when the exampleconfiguration interface 245 determines that the audio sensorconfiguration stored in the configuration memory 220 is to be updated.(Block 1110). If the audio sensor configuration is not to be updated(e.g., block 1110 returns a result of NO), the example configurationinterface 245 continues to monitor for an instruction to update theselected audio sensor configuration. (Block 1110). If the configurationinterface 245 determines that the audio sensor configuration 220 is tobe updated (block 1110 returns a result of YES), the exampleconfiguration interface 245 gathers an input identifying the desiredaudio sensor configuration. (Block 1120). The example configurationinterface 245 then updates the configuration memory 220 with theidentified audio sensor configuration. (Block 1130).

In the illustrated example of FIG. 11, the example configurationinterface 245 may identify that the audio sensor configuration is to beupdated on a periodic basis. For example, the example configurationinterface 245 may identify that an input should be read every fiveminutes. For example, a selector switch and/or a jumper pin on thecircuit board 505 of the example meter 114 may be set to select the rearfacing audio sensors, may be set to select the front facing audiosensors, and/or may be set to select any other configuration of theaudio sensors. In some examples, the input to the configurationinterface 245 (e.g., the selector switch, the jumper pin, etc.) maybeset by an installer when configuring the meter in the media presentationenvironment 102. Additionally or alternatively, the input to theconfiguration interface 245 may be set at a time of manufacture of themeter 114 such that the meter may be easily installed by a panelistand/or a user of the media presentation device without need forconfiguration of the meter 114 and/or modification of switches and/orjumper pins.

In some examples, the configuration input received by the configurationinterface 245 may be received via, for example, a wireless communicationinterface (e.g., via a Bluetooth connection to an external configurationdevice). In such an example, the example configuration interface 245 maydetermine that the audio sensor configuration is to be updated (block1110) in response to an instruction received via the wirelesscommunication interface.

In some examples, the configuration input received by the configurationinterface may be received directly from the media presentation device110. For example, the configuration interface 245 may be communicativelycoupled to the media presentation device via, for example, the powerreceiver 280. In such an example, the example configuration interface245 may take advantage of the connectivity between the meter 114 and themedia presentation device 110 via for example, a USB cable, an HDMIcable, etc. In some examples, the configuration interface mayinterrogate the media presentation device and/or may monitor informationreceived from the media presentation device to identify a speakerconfiguration of the media presentation device 110. For example, if theconfiguration interface 245 detects that the media presentation deviceis using rear facing speakers, the example configuration interface 245stores a configuration in the configuration memory 220 corresponding tothe rear facing audio sensor(s).

FIG. 12 is a flowchart representative of example machine-readableinstructions 1200 that may be executed to implement the example meter ofFIGS. 1 and/or 2 to update a selected audio sensor configuration basedon a test of different audio sensor configurations. The example process1200 of the illustrated example of FIG. 12 begins when the exampleselection tester 240 determines whether the selected audio sensorconfiguration stored in the configuration memory 220 is to be updated.(Block 1210). In the illustrated example of FIG. 12, the exampleselection tester 240 determines that the audio sensor configuration isto be updated periodically (e.g., every ten minutes, every hour, everyday, etc.). However, the example selection tester 240 may determine thatthe audio sensor configuration stored in the example configurationmemory 220 is to be updated on an a-periodic basis such as, for example,in response to an instruction received via the configuration interface245. If the example selection tester 240 determines that the selectedaudio sensor configuration stored in the configuration memory 220 is notto be updated (e.g., block 1210 returns a result of NO), the exampleprocess of block 1210 of FIG. 12 is repeated until the selection tester240 determines that the selected audio sensor configurations stored inthe example configuration memory 220 is to be updated.

If the example selection tester 240 determines that the audio sensorconfiguration stored in the configuration memory 220 is to be updated(e.g., block 1210 returns a result of YES), the example selection tester240 identifies configurations of the example audio sensors 202, 204,206, 208 to be tested. (Block 1220). In examples disclosed herein, thereare four audio sensors 202, 204, 206, 208. As such, there are 15possible configurations of audio sensors. The example configurations ofaudio sensors are shown in the example data table 1300 the illustratedexample of FIG. 13. For example, the potential configurations mayinclude a single audio sensor, a combination of any two audio sensors, acombination of any three audio sensors, or all four audio sensors. Theexample data table 1300 the illustrated example of FIG. 13 includes anaudio sensor configuration column 1310 and a signal-to-noise ratiocolumn 1315. While a signal to noise ratio column is shown in theillustrated example of FIG. 13, any other quality metric and/orcombination of quality metrics may additionally or alternatively beused. The example data table 1300 the illustrated example of FIG. 13includes rows corresponding to each potential audio sensorconfiguration.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 13 the audio sensor configurationcolumn 1310 represents the potential audio sensor configurations. In theexample audio sensor configuration column 1310 the first audio sensor202 is identified by the letter A, the second audio sensor 204 isidentified by the letter B, the third audio sensor 206 is identified bythe letter C, and the fourth audio sensor 208 is identified by theletter D. However, any other nomenclature for naming the potentialconfigurations may additionally or alternatively be used.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 13, a first potential audio sensorconfiguration 1320 indicates a configuration that includes only thefirst audio sensor 202 (i.e., the front left microphone). A secondpotential audio sensor configuration 1322 indicates a configuration thatincludes only the second audio sensor 204 (i.e., the front rightmicrophone). A third potential audio sensor configuration 1324 indicatesa configuration that includes only the third audio sensor 206 (i.e., therear left microphone). A fourth potential audio sensor configuration1326 indicates a configuration that includes only the fourth audiosensor 208 (i.e., the rear right microphone).

A fifth potential audio sensor configuration 1328 indicates aconfiguration that includes a combination of the first audio sensor 202and the second audio sensor 204 (i.e., the two front microphones). Asixth potential audio sensor configuration 1330 indicates aconfiguration that includes the first audio sensor 202 and the thirdaudio sensor 206 (i.e., the front left microphone and the rear leftmicrophone). A seventh potential audio sensor configuration 1332indicates a configuration that includes the first audio sensor 202 andthe fourth audio sensor 208 (i.e., the front left microphone in the rearright microphone).

An eighth potential audio sensor configuration 1334 indicates aconfiguration that includes the first audio sensor 202, the second audiosensor 204, and the third audio sensor 206 (i.e., the two frontmicrophones and the rear left microphone). A ninth potential audiosensor configuration 1336 indicates configuration that includes thefirst audio sensor 202, the second audio sensor 204, and the fourthaudio sensor 208 (i.e., the front two microphones and the rear rightmicrophone). A tenth potential audio sensor configuration 1338 indicatesa configuration that includes the first audio sensor 202, the thirdaudio sensor 206, and the fourth audio sensor 208 (i.e., the front leftmicrophone and the two rear microphones).

An eleventh potential audio sensor configuration 1340 indicates aconfiguration that includes the second audio sensor 204 and the thirdaudio sensor 206 (i.e., the front right microphone and the rear leftmicrophone). A twelfth potential audio sensor configuration 1342includes second audio sensor 204 and the fourth audio sensor 208 (i.e.,the front right microphone in the rear right microphone). A thirteenthpotential audio sensor configuration 1344 indicates configuration thatincludes the second audio sensor 204, the third audio sensor 206, andthe fourth audio sensor 208 (i.e., the front right microphone and thetwo rear microphones).

A fourteenth potential audio sensor configuration 1346 indicates aconfiguration that includes the third audio sensor 206 and the fourthaudio sensor 208 (i.e. the two rear microphones). A fifteenth potentialaudio sensor configuration 1348 indicates a configuration that includesthe first audio sensor 202, the second audio sensor 204, the third audiosensor 206, and the fourth audio sensor 208 (i.e., all fourmicrophones). While, fifteen configurations of four microphones areshown in the illustrated example of FIG. 13, any other configuration(s)may additionally or alternatively be used and/or may be omitted. Forexample, configurations that solely use audio sensors that are onopposing corners of the meter (e.g., the sixth potential audio sensorconfiguration 1330, the twelfth potential audio sensor configuration1340) may be omitted as such configurations may be unlikely to becomethe selected audio sensor configuration. Omitting such configurationsreduces the amount of operations performed when testing the potentialaudio sensor configurations.

Returning to FIG. 12, the example selection tester 240 selects apossible audio sensor configuration to test. (Block 1230). The exampleselection tester 240 gathers signal-to-noise ratio informationidentified by the media identifier 230 while the audio sensor selector210 is set to the audio sensor configuration to be tested. (Block 1240).The example selection tester 240 stores the signal-to-noise ratio inassociation with the selected audio sensor configuration. (Block 1250).As noted above, while a signal to noise ratio is used in the illustratedexample of FIG. 12, any other quality metric and/or combination ofquality metrics may additionally or alternatively be used. As shown inthe illustrated example of FIG. 13, each audio sensor configuration(shown in the example audio sensor configuration column 1310) has acorresponding signal-to-noise ratio (shown in the example signal tonoise ratio column 1315).

The example selection tester 240 determines whether additional possibleaudio sensor configurations exist to be tested. (Block 1260). Ifadditional possible audio sensor configurations exist for testing,(block 1260 returns a result of YES), the example selection tester 240proceeds to test a next selected audio sensor configuration until noaudio sensor configurations remain to be tested (block 1260 returns aresult of NO). The example selection tester 240 selects the audio sensorconfiguration that has the greatest signal-to-noise ratio. (Block 1270).As shown in the illustrated example of FIG. 13, the fourteenth exampleaudio sensor configuration 1346 has the greatest signal-to-noise ratio.As a result, in the illustrated example of 13, the fourteenth exampleaudio sensor configuration is selected.

In the illustrated example of FIG. 12, the example selection tester 240determines whether the signal-to-noise ratio of the selected audiosensor configuration is greater than a signal-to-noise ratio changethreshold. (Block 1280). If the signal-to-noise ratio is not greaterthan the signal-to-noise ratio change threshold, (block 1280 returns aresult of NO), the example process of blocks 1210 through 1280 of FIG.12 is repeated until the selection tester 240 determines that thesignal-to-noise ratio of an identified configuration is greater than thesignal-to-noise ratio change threshold (block 1280 returns result ofYES). In response to determining that the signal-to-noise ratio of theselected audio sensor configuration is greater than the signal-to-noiseratio change threshold (block 1280 returns result YES), the exampleselection tester 240 updates the configuration memory with the selectedaudio sensor configuration. (Block 1290.) Using a signal-to-noise ratiochange threshold helps ensure that the audio sensor configuration is notinadvertently changed to a configuration that could result in anin-sufficient level of media identification.

The example process of FIG. 12 is then repeated to periodically and/or aperiodically update the configuration memory with a selected audiosensor configuration. Periodically updating the configuration memoryensures that, in the event of a change in the audio environment (e.g., achange from the use of rear facing speakers to the use of front facingspeakers) the audio sensor configuration is updated to account for thechange in the audio environment.

FIG. 14 is a block diagram of an example processor platform 1400 capableof executing the instructions of FIGS. 9, 10, 11, and/or 12 to implementthe meter 114 of FIGS. 1 and/or 2. The processor platform 1400 can be,for example, a server, a personal computer, a mobile device (e.g., acell phone, a smart phone, a tablet such as an iPad™), a personaldigital assistant (PDA), an Internet appliance, a DVD player, a CDplayer, a digital video recorder, a Blu-ray player, a gaming console, apersonal video recorder, a set top box, or any other type of computingdevice.

The processor platform 1400 of the illustrated example includes aprocessor 1412. The processor 1412 of the illustrated example ishardware. For example, the processor 1412 can be implemented by one ormore integrated circuits, logic circuits, microprocessors or controllersfrom any desired family or manufacturer.

The processor 1412 of the illustrated example includes a local memory1413 (e.g., a cache). The example processor 1412 executes instructionsto implement the example audio sensor selector 210, the example mediaidentifier 230, the example selection tester 240, the exampleconfiguration interface 245, the example audience measurement datacontroller 250, and/or the example people identifier 270. The processor1412 of the illustrated example is in communication with a main memoryincluding a volatile memory 1414 and a non-volatile memory 1416 via abus 1418. The volatile memory 1414 may be implemented by SynchronousDynamic Random Access Memory (SDRAM), Dynamic Random Access Memory(DRAM), RAMBUS Dynamic Random Access Memory (RDRAM) and/or any othertype of random access memory device. In the illustrated example of FIG.14, the volatile memory 1414 stores the configuration memory 220.However, any other memory device of the example processor platform 1400may additionally or alternatively store the example configuration memory220. The non-volatile memory 1416 may be implemented by flash memoryand/or any other desired type of memory device. Access to the mainmemory 1414, 1416 is controlled by a memory controller.

The processor platform 1400 of the illustrated example also includes aninterface circuit 1420. The interface circuit 1420 may be implemented byany type of interface standard, such as an Ethernet interface, auniversal serial bus (USB), and/or a PCI express interface.

In the illustrated example, one or more input devices 1422 are connectedto the interface circuit 1420. The input device(s) 1422 permit(s) a userto enter data and commands into the processor 1412. The input device(s)can be implemented by, for example, an audio sensor, a microphone, acamera (still or video), a keyboard, a button, a mouse, a touchscreen, atrack-pad, a trackball, isopoint and/or a voice recognition system. Inthe illustrated example of FIG. 14, the example input device(s) 1422implement the example audio sensor(s) 202, 204, 206, 208.

One or more output devices 1424 are also connected to the interfacecircuit 1420 of the illustrated example. The output devices 1424 can beimplemented, for example, by display devices (e.g., a light emittingdiode (LED), an organic light emitting diode (OLED), a liquid crystaldisplay, a cathode ray tube display (CRT), a touchscreen, a tactileoutput device, a printer and/or speakers). The interface circuit 1420 ofthe illustrated example, thus, typically includes a graphics drivercard, a graphics driver chip or a graphics driver processor.

The interface circuit 1420 of the illustrated example also includes acommunication device such as a transmitter, a receiver, a transceiver, amodem and/or network interface card to facilitate exchange of data withexternal machines (e.g., computing devices of any kind) via a network1426 (e.g., an Ethernet connection, a digital subscriber line (DSL), atelephone line, coaxial cable, a cellular telephone system, etc.).

The processor platform 1400 of the illustrated example also includes oneor more mass storage devices 1428 for storing software and/or data.Examples of such mass storage devices 1428 include floppy disk drives,hard drive disks, compact disk drives, Blu-ray disk drives, RAIDsystems, and digital versatile disk (DVD) drives.

The coded instructions 1432 of FIGS. 9, 10, 11, and/or 12 may be storedin the mass storage device 1428, in the volatile memory 1414, in thenon-volatile memory 1416, and/or on a removable tangible computerreadable storage medium such as a CD or DVD. In the illustrated exampleof FIG. 14, the example mass storage device 1428 stores the data store255. However, any other memory device of the example processor platform1400 may additionally or alternatively store the example data store 255.

From the foregoing, it will be appreciated that the above disclosedmethods, apparatus, and articles of manufacture facilitate selection ofan audio sensor and/or audio sensor combination in an audiencemeasurement device. In examples disclosed herein, many different audioenvironments exist and, in some examples, the audio environment in whichan audience measurement device (e.g., a meter) is to operate may bemodified without notice. In examples disclosed herein, the exampleaudience measurement device accounts for such varying acousticenvironments by enabling selection of different audio sensorconfigurations corresponding to different acoustic environments.Moreover, the example audience measurement device enables testing ofvarious configurations of audio sensor(s) to enable selection of aconfiguration of one or more audio sensors that results in a reliablemedia identification. More reliable media identification results in lessprocessor operations used to detect and/or credit media. For example,error-mitigation that would otherwise be performed (e.g., at a centralfacility of an audience measurement entity) to remove erroneous mediaidentifications might not need to be performed when the mediaidentification is more reliably obtained by the audience measurementdevice.

Although certain example methods, apparatus and articles of manufacturehave been disclosed herein, the scope of coverage of this patent is notlimited thereto. On the contrary, this patent covers all methods,apparatus and articles of manufacture fairly falling within the scope ofthe claims of this patent.

What is claimed is:
 1. An apparatus, comprising: a first audio sensor tooutput a first signal; a second audio sensor to output a second signal;a selection tester to: identify a first configuration and a secondconfiguration, the first and second configurations to identifyrespective gain values to be applied to at least one of the first signaland the second signal; obtain a first quality metric associated with afirst media identification when the gain values of the firstconfiguration are applied; obtain a second quality metric associatedwith a second media identification when the gain values of the secondconfiguration are applied; and select one of the first configuration orthe second configuration based on a comparison of the first qualitymetric and the second quality metric; and a media identifier to identifymedia based on the first signal and the second signal with the selectedone of the configurations applied.
 2. The apparatus of claim 1, furtherincluding a configuration memory to store the selected one of theconfigurations.
 3. The apparatus of claim 1, wherein the selectiontester is to select the one of the first configuration or the secondconfiguration when at least one of the first quality metric or thesecond quality metric satisfies a quality metric change threshold. 4.The apparatus of claim 1, further including an audio sensor selector tocombine audio based on the selected one of the first configuration orthe second configuration to form combined audio, the media identifier toperform the identification based on the combined audio.
 5. The apparatusof claim 1, wherein the selection tester identifies the firstconfiguration and the second configuration periodically.
 6. Theapparatus of claim 1, wherein the first quality metric and the secondquality metric are signal to noise ratios.
 7. The apparatus of claim 1,wherein the first quality metric and the second quality metric are acombination of signal to noise ratios and bit error rates.
 8. A method,the method comprising: identifying a first configuration and a secondconfiguration, the first and second configurations to identifyrespective gain values to be applied to at least one of a first signaloutput by a first audio sensor of the audience metering device and asecond signal output by a second audio sensor of the audience meteringdevice; obtaining a first quality metric associated with a first mediaidentification when the gain values of the first configuration areapplied; obtaining a second quality metric associated with a secondmedia identification when the gain values of the second configurationare applied; selecting one of the first configuration or the secondconfiguration based on a comparison of the first quality metric and thesecond quality metric; and identifying media based on the first signaland the second signal with the selected one of the configurationsapplied.
 9. The method of claim 8, further including storing theselected one of the configurations in a configuration memory.
 10. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the selecting of the one of the firstconfiguration or the second configuration is performed when at least oneof the first quality metric or the second quality metric satisfies aquality metric change threshold.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein theidentification of the configurations is performed periodically.
 12. Themethod of claim 8, wherein the first quality metric and the secondquality metric are signal to noise ratios.
 13. The method of claim 8,wherein the first quality metric and the second quality metric are acombination of signal to noise ratios and bit error rates.
 14. Anon-transitory readable medium comprising instructions which, whenexecuted, cause an audience metering device to at least: identify afirst configuration and a second configuration, the first and secondconfigurations to identify respective gain values to be applied to atleast one of a first signal output by a first audio sensor of theaudience metering device and a second signal output by a second audiosensor of the audience metering device; obtain a first quality metricassociated with a first media identification when the gain values of thefirst configuration are applied; obtain a second quality metricassociated with a second media identification when the gain values ofthe second audio sensor configuration are applied; select one of thefirst configuration or the second configuration based on a comparison ofthe first quality metric and the second quality metric; and identifymedia based on the first signal and the second signal with the selectedone of the configurations applied.
 15. The non-transitory readablemedium of claim 14, wherein the instructions, when executed, furthercause the audience metering device to store the selected one of theconfigurations in a configuration memory.
 16. The non-transitoryreadable medium of claim 14, wherein the selection of the one of thefirst configuration or the second configuration is performed when atleast one of the first quality metric or the second quality metricsatisfies a quality metric change threshold.
 17. The non-transitoryreadable medium of claim 14, wherein the identification of the firstconfiguration and second configuration is performed periodically. 18.The non-transitory readable medium of claim 14, wherein theinstructions, when executed, further cause the audience metering deviceto combine audio based on the selected one of the first configuration orthe second configuration to form combined audio, the identification ofthe media based on the combined audio.
 19. The non-transitory readablemedium of claim 14, wherein the first quality metric and the secondquality metric are signal to noise ratios.
 20. The non-transitoryreadable medium of claim 14, wherein the first quality metric and thesecond quality metric are a combination of signal to noise ratios andbit error rates.